| San Ignacio Lagoon, continued The Most Friendly Whale |
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| It really is a matter of luck. Three boats set out from our camp to visit an island in the lagoon. Two of those boats went directly to the island, while my boat met a fantastic whale. Petting this whale was easy. The whale also rose out of the water, leaning into the boat, and accepted kisses. |
| Gray whales are vegetarians without teeth, so there was plenty of petting in the area of the whale's gigantic mouth. But I never expected the whale to put its mouth on display. |
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| As the whale opens its mouth right next to our boat, the white that appears is apparently baleen, the strainer that captures the whale's food, such as krill and plankton, from the water. Or it could by the whale's tongue. I'm not an expert. |
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| Still, the guy in our boat who decided he would try and hold the whale's mouth open for a better view was carrying things a bit too far. This particular whale did not seem to care at all, rolling over by the side of our boat. The whale entertained a fleet of boats, receiving human contact from one boat after another for a lengthy period, until it finally appeared satisfied with the experience. I know we were. My best video was courtesy of this whale. |
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| Even whale exits can be spectacular at San Ignacio, whose friendly whales have no equal to my knowledge. The lagoon was saved from a giant salt plant, thanks to protests in Mexico and around the world. One warning to photographers: whales exhale by spouting, so this close contact can result in your camera suddenly being drenched. It happened to me, but the camcorder recovered. |
| If you have a high speed internet connection, watch the Intrepid Berkeley Explorer's video of San Ignacio, "The Whale's Tale", by clicking on AdventurePics.com . |
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